FredFile
by Katamabob
Summary: Fred and George Weasley begin their third year in Hogwarts as their little brother starts in first year. The Philosopher/Sorcerer's Stone from Fred's POV. May EVENTUALLY contain romance but currently not. May become AU.
1. Anticipation

**Disclaimer:** I do not own HP, however much I may wish otherwise. I have loved this story since I was but six years old and have just decided to have a little fun with JKR's characters. Don't sue!

**Tester Chapter**

He would never admit it to anyone, but he was excited. He always was. To go back to SCHOOL for god's sake! If that got out he'd never live it down. It's not that he particularly enjoyed WORK or anything, though his grades weren't that bad despite his constant inattention in class.

What he liked were the people, and the fun. And admittedly the mischief also played a large part of it.

This year was probably going to be even better than usual, as Fred and his brother were going into their third year at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and that meant trips to Hogsmeade were made occasionally throughout the year. Of course, Fred and George hadn't really abided by the rules during their first two years, and the restrictions on them going to the village had been no exception. But now they were ALLOWED go and could go with their friends, instead of sneaking through dark passageways (conveniently mapped for them by previous mischief-makers). They had had a bit of trouble convincing their mother to sign the form, though. She seemed to have formed the odd idea that they would somehow get their hands on something dangerous. Especially explosives. The twins had never actually blown anything up but Mum seemed to think it was only a matter of time (and Fred rather agreed). Thankfully they eventually managed to sway her in exchange for patiently listening to her lecture on their studies and how it was _wrong_ to blow things up.

Another bonus to consider about this year was that among the ickle firsties (as Peeves seemed so fond of calling them) was Fred's little brother, Ron.

Fred grinned evilly at this last thought: they would have fun with little Ronnie.

"Oy! Fred!" His twin said loudly beside him, and then proceeded to wave a hand in front of his face theatrically. Fred blinked and focused on George's face.

"What?" he said distractedly.

"You've been staring at nothing for ten minutes," said his brother exasperatedly. "We need to finish packing within the next half an hour on Mum will have our necks."

"Oh, yeah, sorry! Just thinking," said Fred, getting back to the matter at hand. George's eyes widened in over-dramatic surprise and he clutched at his heart.

"Fred? Thinking?" he exclaimed. "I may just die of shock!"

"Yeah, I know," Fred agreed with an innocent look. "But it's actually turning out to be a quite a pleasant experience." He paused for a while, stuffing the rest of his things in his trunk and closing it.

"Maybe you should try it some time," he suggested amiably as he headed towards the kitchen for breakfast.

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Half an hour later they were all squashed into the Ford Anglia and heading for King's Cross Station. Dad wasn't coming today because of some hexed lavatory with a vendetta against Muggles, which meant that no one had enlarged the inside of the car. Mum insisted on doing things the 'Muggle way' and consequently this meant that they had to fit six people into a five-seater car. Percy, being a _prefect_, got the privilege of sitting up front with Mum, while Fred, George, Ron and Ginny (who _insisted_ on coming) were all squashed together in the back. Fred naturally decided that since this maybe his last chance to talk to Ron before they got there he might as well make use of it.

"So," he said sociably to his younger brother. "Excited?"

Ron, who was looking very nervous, nodded uncertainly. Then he cleared his throat and voiced a question that seemed to have been bothering him (if Fred was any judge of such matters).

"I was wondering," Ron began in a slightly higher-pitched voice than normal, "and this is just for the sake of curiosity you understand, but what if, well, I'mnotingryffindor…"

"Wha'? Didn't catch that last part," he said.

"What if I'm not in Gryffindor?" Ron repeated more slowly, trying (and failing) to seem uninterested. "What are the other Houses like?"

"Well, first of all, if you're not in Gryffindor we'll disown you. Ravenclaws are stuffy, Hufflepuffs are duffers and Slytherins are assholes." He looked guiltily toward Mum in case she was listening but when she made no recognisable sign of disapproval he relaxed. She hated it when they swore.

He noticed Ron looking more nervous than ever. It was meant to be a joke (disown him, pfff!), but Ron always took everything way too seriously. Oh well, if he was going to mess with the kid he may as well do it thoroughly.

"We're going to enjoy watching the Sorting with you in it," he said, mildly. "Entertaining." He winked at George, who had been listening, and saw his twin stifle an evil grin.

"Why?" said Ron nervously (and more than a bit suspiciously). "How do they sort us." George was the one who answered.

"S'a test," he said. "A challenge if you will."

"What kind of test?"

"Don't worry your little head about it," said Fred condescendingly. "The school Matron has some very effective painkillers if you get injured."

"Why would I get injured?" Ron asked now looking terrified.

"You might not," Fred reassured slightly… before shattering the boy's last shreds of confidence. "Maybe you're secretly a child prodigy when it comes to troll fighting."

" A TROLL?!!!!" Ron practically shrieked in his alarm. Mum heard him this time.

"What's going on back there?" she snapped irratibly.

"Nothing Mum," Fred answered as innocently as possible. She turned to glare at him but as she did so a passing Muggle car honked at her and she forgot about him.

"Quiet!" Fred hissed at his brother (although he felt a bit guilty about this as it was his fault for winding him up).

At this point George changed the subject.

"How's Scabbers doing?" he inquired, rather randomly it seemed to Fred.

"He's as healthy and boring as ever," Ron replied shortly, obviously still thinking about the 'troll'. Judging from his increasingly suspicious glances toward him, Fred suspected that he had decided not to believe him. Fred was secretly glad. Ron was too gullible for his own good. These things were meant to startle him but only until common sense kicked in. Unfortunately his little bro' seemed kind of lacking in that department. Oh, well.

"Really? Didn't you try that fur-dying charm I taught you?" George continued, acting puzzled.

"It doesn't work," said Ron, irritated. "As you no doubt know."

"Always worked for me mate," said George innocently.

"You probably just did it wrong," Fred stated, barely paying attention anymore. Mum was just turning into King's Cross Station car park. Finally!

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_Authors Note:_ Please be gentle! First ever fanfic and though I appreciate constructive criticism please do not be needlessly cruel.

This is but a trial chapter to see if anyone cares about this idea. I will continue if I receive positive feedback or slight encouragement. I do not wish to write something that no one will read.

Please review! I beg!


	2. King's Cross

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. This makes me sad...

**King's Cross**

The Weasleys all hurried out of the car and began unloading their trunks from the boot. They each got a trolley and began to push them towards the platforms. Mum was striding quickly with Ginny beside her and the boys following with their now-full trolleys. Mum seemed rather flustered and had to ask the platform number while looking around quickly at the numbers. Ginny told her and they started to head to platform 9 and 3¾ Fred began to look around for anyone he knew on their way to the same destination. The only other Hogwarts student he could see in their general vicinity was a rather small black-haired boy with glasses looking a bit lost.

'Probably lost track of his parents,' thought Fred. He considered going over to ask the boy if he was lost (as the little boy – who looked like a first year – was obviously a wizard as he had a white owl with him) but he was distracted by the sound of his sister's complaints and pleadings.

"Mum, can't I go…?" Ginny pleaded, as she had several times over the summer after seeing all of Ron's new books. She was going to be alone this year without any of her siblings at home until Christmas. 'Poor Ginny,' thought Fred sympathetically, wondering if there was any way to cheer her up. He was fond of his sister and didn't like to think of her being lonely. 'Of course, it will be a lot more peaceful,' he reflected and decided that she may welcome their absence. Fred himself rather liked peace and solitude, although he liked noise and chaos even more. His twin, however, got restless after even five minutes of quiet so Fred rarely got a moment to himself. George was, without a doubt, his best friend and always had been but sometimes he wondered if they really had to do _everything_ together. Fred did have enormous amounts of fun and wanted things to generally stay as they were but even an hour a day to himself? Despite what people thought they were two different people… identical in appearance and often in behaviour but different _minds_. Sometimes he felt that he was too interchangeable with his brother in the heads of others. Not thought of as _Fred_ but as a Weasley twin.

He realised he had zoned out for a while when he saw Percy disappear through the barrier. His mother turned to him and gestured toward the hidden platform.

"Fred, you next," she said to him briskly. Though he often felt resentful about it, his similarity to his brother could be rather fun.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George," he said with false indignation. "Honestly, woman, call yourself our mother? Can't you _tell_ I'm George?" It was fun watching her apologetic expression and he tried to quell any anger he felt toward the fact that she had believed him so quickly. Even _she_ wasn't ever sure.

"Sorry, George, dear," she said nudging him in the direction of the barrier. He grinned at her in amusement.

"Only joking, I am Fred," he told her cheerfully and began running at the barrier before she had time to give out to him. He heard George snigger behind him though so he assumed that she was looking humorously outraged.

Once on the platform he waited for his twin and after he appeared onto the platform they immediately began looking for their friends. It wasn't that hard to find Lee Jordan, who had been their friend and many-time-accomplice since first year and was in their House. Unfortunately he was difficult to get to as a large crowd had gathered around him to see whatever it was that was in the box in his arms. The crowd was all begging him to let them see it. When he conceded and opened it a few girls shrieked and Fred caught a glimpse of a long, hairy appendage from his vantagepoint at the back. It looked as though it belonged to a very large spider. Fred grinned when he spotted his younger brother walking very quickly away from Lee and his spider. Ron had never forgotten Fred turning his teddy bear into a spider all those years ago. Fred had been very angry with him for breaking his toy broomstick and the reaction to the spider had been hilarious.

Fred turned to George to point Ron's behaviour out to him and realised that his twin was no longer beside him.

"Oy, Fred!" he heard and turned to see George beckoning to him from the other side of the platform. He was standing beside the black-haired boy Fred had seen earlier. The boy was still alone.

'Maybe he's Muggleborn,' thought Fred sympathetically, 'and his parents didn't want to come.

"C'mere and help!" George called and beckoned again.

As Fred walked over he noticed that the boy had been attempting to lift his heavy trunk (which seemed to Fred to be almost as big as the person trying to lift it) onto the train. Together they succeeded in tucking the trunk away into a corner of the compartment.

"Thanks," the boy said gratefully, pushing his hair out of his eyes. Fred glimpsed an odd blemish below his hairline.

"What's that?" he asked curiously, pointing to the oddly shaped scar on the boy's forehead. It almost looked like a bolt of lightning…

And suddenly he realised who this rather scrawny boy before him _was_, and why he had come alone. George seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

"Blimey!" he exclaimed. "Are you-?"

"He _is_," said Fred in awe. He looked to the kid for confirmation. "Aren't you?" he asked.

"What?" said the boy, looking deeply confused.

"_Harry Potter_!" the twins said excitedly.

"Oh, him," said the boy, his expression clearing, before he quickly added: "I mean, yes, I am."

Fred stared at him, awed and slightly incredulous that this tiny and harmless little boy was the one who had ultimately defeated You-Know-Who. He was vaguely aware of George staring at the boy with the same expression.

Suddenly Fred heard his mother calling and snapped out of it.

"Coming Mum," they both called and hurried toward her. Fred glanced back at the Boy-Who-Lived and saw him looking immensely relieved. He must have found their stares rather embarrassing. Fred grinned at this thought, as he doubted that himself and George would be the last to have that reaction. It was just so _cool_! Harry Potter, the boy who had defeated the Dark Lord, was in the school this year and they had talked to him! He had so many questions about You-Know-Who, as most adults refused to talk about it.

As they approached Mum Fred saw her attack Ron's nose with a handkerchief.

"Mum – geroff!" the youngest Weasley boy protested indignantly as he struggled free from her and her handkerchief. Fred grinned at him in amusement and Ron glared back, daring him to comment. Unfortunately for him, Fred generally considered himself a rather daring individual. He grinned wider.

"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" he said in his best babying-Ron voice, smiling at his younger brother in mock-sympathy.

"Shut up," said Ron, an embarrassed and very angry expression on his face. Fred responded with another insolent smile. He considered patting him on the head for added effect, but decided against it on the grounds that it may push Ron over the edge.

"Where is Percy?" his mother asked suddenly, interrupting his thoughts and Ron's sulky glare.

"He's coming now," nodding in the direction of their Fifth year brother who, already in his Hogwarts robes, was indeed striding over to them. His silver Prefect badge was gleaming on his chest and Fred suspected that he had polished once again since changing.

"Can't stay long, Mother," he began in a rather pompous manner as he reached them. "I'm up front, the Prefects have two compartments to themselves –"

"Oh," George exclaimed, as if in surprise. "Are you a Prefect, Percy? You should have said something, we had no idea." Fred grinned at this. Percy had talked of little else the whole summer. He decided to join in. Percy took himself way too seriously and Fred felt that he could only benefit from being mocked continuously, a service that the twins were only too eager to provide.

"Hang on," he said, frowning as though trying to recall a very vague memory. "I think I remember him mentioning it. Once –"

"Or twice –" George added in a speculative tone of voice.

"A minute –"

"All summer –"

"Oh, shut up," Percy interrupted them, irritated and much less pompous. Fred hated his pompous manner and one of the reasons he loved mocking him is that Percy acted a lot more genuinely (and less eloquently) when annoyed. More like an older brother rather than a Prefect.

"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" George asked, sounding mildly resentful. Fred was fairly sure he knew why, although it didn't make him feel any better.

"Because he's a _Prefect_," said Mum fondly, confirming Fred's suspicions. This probably meant that he and George would never get new robes, as they had no desire to be Prefects and no teacher would be dim-witted enough to offer it to them anyway.

"Alright, dear," she continued to Percy. "Have a good term – send me an owl when you get there." She kissed his cheek and he left. She then rounded on the twins, looking a lot sterner. 'So no fond farewells for us, I'm guessing," he thought glumly and with more than a little jealousy. 'But Perfect Prefect Percy deserves every attention.'

"Now you two," she began, frowning at us, "this year you'll behave ourselves! If I get one more owl telling me you've – you've blown up a toilet or –" Fred suppressed a laugh at this. She truly seemed to believe that they would do something like that. 'Although,' he thought, suddenly rather intrigued, 'it would be amusing…" He grinned as George started protesting their innocence with well-feigned righteous indignation.

"Blow up a toilet?" Fred's twin said. "We've never blown up a toilet!"

"Great idea though, thanks, Mum," said Fred, and grinned even wider as though in evil anticipation.

"It's _not funny_," she thundered but then her expression softened somewhat as she added, "And look after Ron."

"Don't worry," said Fred, winking at the once-again-glowering Ron. "Ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."

"Shut up," he said again. George then decided to change the subject, for which Fred was grateful as "ickle Ronniekins" was looking positively murderous.

"Hey, Mum, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?" said George excitedly. "You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? You know who he is?"

"Who?" she asked curiously.

"_Harry Potter_!" the twins chorused.

"Oh, Mum," Ginny exclaimed in awe and excitement. "Can I go on the train and see him, Mum, oh _please_…?"

"You've already seen him Ginny," she answered her daughter sternly. "And the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo." She then turned to Fred. "Is he really, Fred? How do you know?"

"Asked him," he replied matter-of-factly. "Saw his scar. It's really there – like lightning!"

"Poor _dear_ – no wonder he was alone. I wondered," she said sadly. "He was ever so polite when he asked how to get on to the platform."

"Never mind that," Fred disregarded impatiently. "Do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?" He realised too late that it was rather tactless to say this in front of Mum when she was in a Mood. He was soon found to be right. Her eyes narrowed sternly.

"I forbid you to ask him, Fred." He began to protest but she cut him off. "No, don't you dare! As though he needs reminding of that on his first day of school." He held up his hands in defeat.

"All right, keep your hair on."

The whistle sounded and they were quickly ushered onto the train by their mother. Fred, George and Ron all leant out the window to kiss her goodbye. Fred always felt vaguely embarrassed doing this in public but he'd much sooner face any amount of teasing from his peers about it, which he could easily laugh off, than face the wrath of his mother, which he couldn't.

Ginny began to cry and Fred tried to placate her.

"Don't Ginny," he said fondly. "We'll send you loads of owls!"

"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat," added George cheerily.

"_George!_"

"Only joking, Mum."

Ginny was still crying but she laughed as well and, as the train began to pull away, she ran alongside it, waving at them until they picked up speed and left her behind.

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A/N: I actually recieved 2 reviews for my story, both positive. THANK YOU! i decided to go ahead and publish this chapter. this one was kind of tricky because in the book Harry saw most of this scene so there was little wriggle room but i had fun trying to add more depth to it. I hope in future to have less scenes orchestrated previously by Rowling because it means i can have my own plot. for now i'm sticking to the plot laid down by JKR because Fred and George are not hugely involved in her story so i can have my own Fred-centred plot without contradictions. though they will be aware of the bigger picture (eg the Philosopher's Stone, or Sorcerors Stone for Americans) it will not be fixated on Harry. If, much later on (as in, several books later if this gets anywhere near that far), this becomes impossible while keeping my plots as i like them then this shall probably branch off from the books (especially since the 7th book being out leaves little leeway).

DangerousDiamondDarling: Thank you for the really nice review, it was VERY encouraging and much appreciated. Hope you like this one too. ^_^ and cool penname by the way.

Iliraen: THANK YOU! Glad you like it! I hope i do keep writing (which may depend on reviews) as i'm having a lot of fun. I hope this one is up to standard.


	3. The Hogwarts Express

**Disclaimer**: Still don't own Harry Potter, although I do have Plans...

**The Hogwarts Express**

Once Ginny was no longer visible the Hogwarts Express began to speed up and the three brothers withdrew from the window. Fred watched the houses flashing by, thinking of his little sister and her sad expression. He wouldn't even get to see her for Christmas as she and their parents were going to Romania to visit Charlie.

"I'm going to try and find an empty compartment," Ron announced after a brief silence. "I'll see you guys later."

"We'll follow in a sec to see you settled," George told him as his twin continued to stare out the window. "You go ahead." Ron nodded and began to lug his trunk along the corridor.

Once he was out of sight, George nudged Fred.

"What's up?" he asked, looking mildly concerned. "You seem kind of out of it today."

Fred shook his head to clear it and tried to rid his mind of gloomy thoughts. He grinned weakly at his brother.

"It's this whole 'thinking' thing again," he joked. "Once you start it's hard to stop. You probably shouldn't get mixed up in it. Just say 'no'." George frowned at him.

"I'm serious, what's eating you?" he said. "You've been rather gloomy the last couple o' days."

"I don't know, George," he said exasperatedly. "Lots of stuff. It doesn't matter. I'll be cheerful. See?" he added, plastering his widest and most disturbing smile on his face and staring at his brother.

"Ok, ok, I'll stop asking," George agreed reluctantly. "Now stop smiling like that, it's creeping me out!"

"I know," said Fred. "That's why I do it."

"C'mon," said George, laughing. "Let's find Ron."

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It took them a while to find their youngest brother, but when they did they found him sitting in the same compartment as Harry Potter.

"Hey, Ron," said Fred, trying to be nice as Ron was possibly still mad at him for the 'Ronniekins' comment, earlier.

"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train," George told him. "Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there." Fred noticed Ron shudder slightly at the word 'tarantula'.

"Right," the younger boy answered stiffly. Fred decided that maybe he should change the subject so he turned to the boy sitting opposite Ron.

"Harry," he said amiably, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother." He wanted to stay and ask some questions but he had been forbidden to do so and George was looking impatient to be off so they could view this giant spider first hand. Fred rolled his eyes.

"See you later, then," he said and left with his brother.

They walked up through the train. Most of the compartments were full of laughing, happy people, glad to be reunited with all their friends again after the long summer. Fred felt his spirits rise once more. He was going back! This year would be even better than the previous years, he was sure of it. And it would be nice having Ron there too because, though annoying at times he was family, a fairly nice guy and much easier to get on with than Percy. They got on well as long as they didn't mock him, as the kid really couldn't take a joke.

When they found Lee he was alone in a compartment with his box firmly closed beside him. His face lit up as he saw them come in.

"Where were you guys?!" he exclaimed. "I was afraid you had missed the train or something!"

"We were just seeing Ron settled in," George explained. "Where's the fan club?" Lee grinned at the term.

"Most of them left a while ago," he told them. "After all, there is only so song you can stare at a spider. I did have a few over-eager spider enthusiasts that were harder to get rid of, though. I practically had to shove them out the door. Why didn't you guys say hi before we got on the train?" Fred rolled his eyes at him.

"We tried," he said. "But the crowd wouldn't let us through and we had other things to be doing."

"Like what?" asked Lee incredulously.

"Our Mum wanted to say goodbye and remind us that causing objects or, indeed, lavatories to combust and/or explode is _wrong_, and we also had to say goodbye to Ginny and check that Ron got a compartment and all."

"Oh!" George exclaimed, suddenly remembering their more exciting information. "Guess who we met getting onto the train?"

"Who?" asked Lee.

"_Harry Potter_, that's who!"

"Really? _The _Harry Potter?"

"Yep," said Fred happily. "He's going into First Year with Ron. We saw his scar and everything."

"Wow! Where is he now?"

"Down near the back of the train somewhere," answered George when the compartment door slid open.

"Hey guys!" said Alicia Spinnet, striding in. Alicia was a Chaser on the Quidditch team and in their year. The twins got on well with her, even if she was, at times, annoyingly happy. They greeted her warmly and she sat down beside Fred, staying well away from the box still beside Lee.

"What's down the end of the train?" she asked curiously, referring to the sentence overheard as she came in. Fred was about to deflect her question when Lee jumped in.

"Harry Potter!" he said excitingly. Her eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Yeah," he nodded toward Fred and George. "They met him." She looked questioningly at them and they nodded in affirmation. Fred was feeling slightly uneasy. Alicia would probably tell other people, who would tell other people and so on. They had possibly set the entire school on the poor boy. His suspicions were confirmed a second later.

"Omigod!!" she exclaimed in excitement. "I _must_ tell Angelina. Bye guys!" She rushed out, obviously on a mission.

Fred looked over at George and saw his own guilty expression mirrored there. 'Maybe no one will be able to work up the courage to actually go and talk to him,' he hoped.

He turned to glare at Lee.

"What?" Lee asked, looking bewildered at the hostility. Fred sighed and stopped glaring. Lee obviously hadn't meant it.

"You do realise," he said. "That, because you told her, most of the school will know that Potter's here in less than an hour?" Lee's look of confusion was replaced by one of understanding, followed closely by remorse.

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't know it was a secret. They'd have found out soon enough anyway, though, wouldn't they?"

"Yeah, but it would probably have been best to put it off for as long as possible. You know, spare him some embarrassment." Lee frowned at this in puzzlement.

"Surely he'd be used to it by now," he said.

"Apparently not," argued George. "He looked dead embarrassed when me and Fred asked him if he was Harry Potter."

"Now that's not exactly fair," Fred disagreed, a smile tugging at his lips. "I think it was our reactions that he found embarrassing. And who wouldn't?"

"Why?" asked Lee, grinning. "What did you do?"

"I believe our expressions were akin to those of identical goldfish." George and Lee both burst out laughing.

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By the time the food trolley came by they were talking about their new subjects. They were all taking Divination and Care of Magical Creatures and Fred and George were taking Arithmancy (rather against their will – Percy had made them) and Lee was doing Muggle Studies.

When offered food the twins declined with claims of a lack of appetite while Lee purchased large amounts of sweets from the trolley. Once the woman left again Fred took out his package of sandwiches and tried to act as though these were what he wanted to be eating.

Lee, who had already begun on a pasty, watched him begin on a sandwich. He held out a chocolate frog.

"Want one?" he offered. Fred shook his head firmly. He did not accept charity, though Lee was always trying to give it. George frowned at his brother. He felt that Fred was too picky about such things. 'Well let him think that,' thought Fred.

"Thanks, Lee," said George cheerfully as he accepted the frog offered to him. "Sure you don't want one, Fred? They're really nice."

"No."

"Oh come on!" George said, exasperated. "I know what you're thinking and it isn't charity, for god's sake! Friends share food all the time!"

Fred wanted to argue that sharing implied that it went both ways, while he had nothing to give Lee, but the sandwiches were seeming less appetising by the second (corned beef again, ugh!) and the offer of chocolate was tempting. He swallowed his pride and graciously accepted the food. 'Just this once,' he told himself.

After he finished he was offered another but this time he claimed he wasn't hungry. George, however, had three more before stopping.

They were soon interrupted once again by a round-faced and rather tearful looking first year. He looked suddenly terrified to be the centre of attention among three third years (and, unknown to him, a tarantula. Fred reflected that this was probably best as the boy seemed nervous enough already). After a long silence it dawned on them that the boy was apparently frozen by fear.

"Yes?" said Fred, not unkindly, hoping to unfreeze the boy. The boy jumped a little, despite his mild tone. He finally started to speak, though.

"I-I-I w-was w-wondering if you'd s-seen a toad?" The first year stuttered nervously, twisting his hands in front of him. They shook their heads slowly so as not to startle him.

"O-ok, th-thanks anyway," the boy said quickly before practically running from the compartment.

There was absolute silence for about a minute before all three of them burst out laughing.

"I swear they're getting smaller and smaller," Fred chuckled.

"And more pathetic," added Lee. "He looked petrified!"

"Wonder what House he'll be in," George mused. He looked at the other two.

"Hufflepuff," they all said at the same time, before dissolving into laughter once more.

"Well," speculated Fred once they had calmed down some, "I suppose he did show bravery in coming in though he was terrified, maybe we have one for Gryffindor on our hands." This set them off again. Fred wondered if this was an effect of the sugar in the chocolate or just the excitement of returning making them so hyper.

As they were laughing the door opened again and the nervous first year came back in. The laughing escalated. They just couldn't stop!

However, this time the boy wasn't alone and all it took was one thoroughly disapproving glare (oddly reminiscent of Molly Weasley) from the bushy-haired first year girl with him to quieten them. She acted as though she had authority over them, third years, and her conviction was so strong that they found themselves feeling guilty as though caught in wrongdoing by a teacher.

She continued to glare until they had sobered up completely and then, her expression slightly less severe, she addressed them in a bossy and commanding voice.

"Have any of you seen a toad?" she asked imperiously. "Neville's lost one."

This girl was starting to remind him of Percy except much more believable in her role as dictator. She would be harder to mock and was rather easier to respect too, annoying though she was.

"Um," George began, uncertainly, "we were already asked this by… Neville, was it?" The boy, now identified as Neville, nodded, looking terrified by the girl's attitude to the 'big, scary third years'.

"And?" she asked impatiently. "Have you?" Fred rolled his eyes.

"Obviously not," he answered as sarcastically as he could manage under her gaze. "If we had there'd have been no reason for him to come back." The Glare returned full force at this. She sniffed disapprovingly and tossed her bushy head. Now focusing her full attention on him, she looked to be sizing him up.

"And you are?" she asked as though ready to take down his name for misbehaviour.

"Fred," he answered with a roguish grin, refusing to act cowed (even if he felt that was). "And this is my brother, George and our friend, Lee. And who are you?"

The girl seemed rather shocked at his lack of reaction to her glare and answered before she could think of a scathing comment.

"Hermione," she said uncertainly, before regaining her glare. "Come on, Neville!" she commanded and strode away, the toad-less boy trailing after her.

"That is one scary girl," said Lee in a tone of awe after a short silence.

"Very," the twins agreed.

They spent the rest of the journey playing exploding snap and talking to friends who dropped by their compartment. Five minutes before arrival they changed into their robes. Soon the train began to slow down and eventually stop.

They were back!

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**A/N:** This chapter turned out quite a bit longer than expected but was quite fun. I had to add Hermione because I like the idea of them being scared of her. The reason I had them tell Lee about Harry being on the train was because in the book word seemed to have spread all the way to Malfoy and the only two people other than Ron who knew about his prescence were Fred and George so they must have been the the ones to leak the information.

So far only two people have been reviewing but it's early days yet and i remain hopeful. My reviewers are really nice and very enthusiastic and i love them both!

**DangerousDiamondDarling**: The two main reasons i'm updating fast is that I have received very little homework over the past week and have had the time to do it and also I'm having too much fun! I like doing this! I'm really glad you think i'm writing Fred well! I want to keep him in character and realistic but with a deeper interior and i hope i don't mess up! i hope you like this one as much as the other two.

**Iliraen:** THANK YOU! I feel so loved ^_^ I know what you mean about the spelling and grammar. a lot of fanfics seem to lack them and it rather annoys me. if i do make mistakes i try to keep them to a minimum as i am a bit too much of a perfectionist which is why i type so slow.


	4. School Song

**Disclaimer:** I still do not own Harry Potter, JKR still does. Just my luck...

**School Song**

It was a clear and cold night, with the stars gleaming brightly above. There was almost a _feeling _or a _scent _of magic in the air. One would expect, on a night such as this, that strange things could come to pass. It is on nights such as this that people would sit at home and in bars telling each other tales of sorcery and bewitchment. They would tell especially of witches around fires in the mountains, toying with the fates of men. 'Witches are abroad this night,' they'd tell one another.

Of course, few people ever say such things anymore, but if they did they'd be right. Both witches and wizards were on the move this night. However, it may have been worth mentioning that a lot of these eldritch beings were but eleven years old. And as for toying with the fates of men, many of them were having trouble enough sorting out their _own_ fates, thank you very much, and weren't going to trouble themselves with someone else's.

As Fred stepped off the train into the chilly night air, he reflected on Muggle term 'witches are abroad' and couldn't help wishing he was, preferably in the tropics somewhere.

He followed Lee and George up the muddy pathways to one of the horse-less carriages and got in beside them, wrinkling his nose at the faint smell of decaying straw. The carriage gave a lurch once they were in and began moving. They were driven past the huge wrought-iron gates and up toward the castle.

Fred could now see it ahead. He couldn't wait until the feast – he was starving! Of course, they'd have to get the Sorting out of the way first but he was rather looking forward to it this year as his brother (and Harry Potter, come to think of it) were being sorted. He hoped Ron would be in Gryffindor, he didn't want him to be part of a rival House. He wondered where the Boy-Who-Lived would be?

They stopped by the steps and got out. Everyone from second year upward began flooding through main doors into the Entrance Hall. They joined the throng and soon got into the Great Hall. Fred and George sat down near the middle of the enormous Gryffindor table and Lee sat opposite them. Alicia and Angelina soon joined them.

"Hey guys!" said Angelina brightly and then said to twins. "I didn't see you earlier, although Alicia tells me she had been talking to you. She had quite a tale to tell. Is it true or another of your jokes?" She looked at them questioningly.

"Of course its true!" said Fred.

"Really?" she said eagerly.

"Yep, just got them yesterday." This seemed to greatly confuse her.

"Got what?"

"Our own brooms, obviously. No more using school brooms for us, eh, George?"

"Nope. I'm glad you're as excited as we are Ange," said George sending her an innocent smile. "That _is _what you were asking us about, isn't it?" She glared at them.

"That _is _good news," she admitted grumpily and then said added accusingly, "although you _know_ that wasn't what I was referring to! Stop playing games and answer! _Is it true?_"

"What?" said Fred, acting confused. She leaned over to him.

"_Harry Potter! In Hogwarts!_" she hissed. "What else?" Fred grinned at her exasperation.

"_Oh_," he exclaimed, as though surprised. "That! Yes it's true" She gasped.

"Really?"

"Yep, he's going to be sorted along with my brother Ron in a minute," he answered.

"Omigod! I wonder what House he'll be in!" She began craning to see the door the first years would come through. Fred turned to his twin.

"I don't know about you," he said, "but _I _thought our brooms were more interesting." George patted him sympathetically on the back.

"Maybe it's a girl thing," he suggested.

Angelina, hearing this, raised on eyebrow at him mockingly but settled back down into her seat.

"What house do you think he'll be in?" she asked.

"Who?" asked George, but seeing her glare he quickly added "Just kidding!"

"Could be Gryffindor," said Lee, shrugging. "I think his father may have been one of us."

"Some people say that he might be even more powerful than You-Know-Who," said Alicia, jumping in on the conversation. "Maybe he'll be in Ravenclaw if he's so good at magic." Angelina snorted derisively.

"You-Know-Who wasn't a Ravenclaw," she pointed out condescendingly. "People think he could be the next Dark Lord. That means he'll be a Slytherin." Fred and George laughed.

"He really didn't seem like Slytherin material," said George, as his twin continued to chuckle. "Never mind a Dark Lord!"

"Oh, so you can tell a Slytherin a mile off I expect!" she said scathingly.

"Pretty much," said George.

"It's the smell," Fred added to her conspiratorially. Her lips twitched and she suppressed a giggle.

At that moment the first years entered the hall, led by McGonagall. They stood in front of the teacher's table while she got out a stool and the Sorting Hat.

Fred noticed his brother looking decidedly queasy, as did Potter beside him, but at the sight of the Hat, Ron's face relaxed slightly and became more puzzled while Potter looked even more panicked. The looks on the faces of all the first years when the hat began to sing were hilarious.

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find,_

_A smarter hat than me…_

Fred noticed that Potter still looked amazed at the talking hat and was staring at it open-mouthed. He nudged George and pointed it out to him. They grinned. A few of the other first years looked equally awed. 'Probably Muggle-borns,' he thought.

The Hat was now nearing the end of its song.

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The whole hall burst into applause. Ron whispered something to the Potter-boy while clapping and then sent Fred a dirty look. Fred grinned widely back at him.

"I think Ron is angry at me because of the troll thing," he muttered, still grinning, to George. He grinned back.

"Troll, hat," he replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Same difference."

McGonagall took out a scroll and began calling out names. One by one, the first years (starting with "Abbott, Hannah") came up and tried on the Sorting Hat. Fred didn't recognise most of them but when Gryffindor received its first new member he cheered with rest of them for girl (one Lavender Brown). He and George wolf-whistled as she came to sit down and Angelina rolled her eyes at them, which just made them laugh and begin catcalling.

When the hat called out "Granger, Hermione" Fred saw the bossy girl from the train practically run to the stool and jam the Hat onto her head, looking very excited.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat shouted and Lee gave a groan and started hitting his head off the table. Fred grinned as she sat down beside Percy a little way down the table. He caught her eye and winked cheekily at her. She raised an eyebrow at him and turned away but he could see her trying not to smile.

The next one he knew was the boy with the missing toad ("Longbottom, Neville"). The Hat took a long time deciding this one but, after a lot of deliberation, announced "GRYFFINDOR!" The twins and Lee looked at each other, shocked, before laughing and then cheering with the others.

At the name "Malfoy, Draco" Fred started and looked at his twin, who looked equally shocked. The boy was the spitting image of Lucius Malfoy, a bad character from what their dad said. Sure enough, the boy was sorted into Slytherin and the twins continued to watch him, eyes narrowed, as he sat down.

When Professor McGonagall called "Potter, Harry" the entire Hall fell silent. And then the whispering started. As the boy walked quickly over to the Hat his face was red with embarrassment. He looked mortified at being the centre of attention.

Everyone waited with bated breath as the Hat decided.

"GRYFFINDOR!" it yelled eventually… and that table exploded with cheers. Fred and George were cheering loudest, crowing their House's victory over the others. Harry Potter, vanquisher of the Dark Lord was in _their_ House. Ha!

"We got Potter! We got Potter," they yelled triumphantly. Fred saw the new Gryffindor sit down rather shakily beside Percy, who began vigorously shaking the boy's hand.

Once the Gryffindors had (eventually) quietened down, McGonagall continued with the Sorting. Ron was the second to last called and looked positively green as he put on the Hat. When it shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" he looked like he had won a thousand Galleons. Fred and George gave him a thumbs-up as he walked over to their table and he grinned at them (his anger at the troll joke apparently forgotten, for now at least) before collapsing with a relieved sigh in the chair net to Potter.

After the last person was Sorted (a Slytherin called Zabini) McGonagall took the Hat and stool away and the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, stood up. Fred looked up at him in disappointment. He wanted to eat, damn it! Surely whatever the man had to say could wait? Apparently not. The Headmaster spread his arms and beamed down at them all.

"Welcome!" he said happily, as though nothing pleased him more than seeing them all again. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet I would like to say a few words." (Fred barely suppressed a groan of impatience at this. Food!!) "And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

"Thank you!"

Fred gave a surprised laugh. 'This is why everyone loves Dumbledore,' he thought, sniggering with George. 'The man's a genius.' Everyone clapped loudly and Fred heard Potter asking Percy-the-Prefect if the Headmaster was crazy. He nudged his twin.

"The Boy-Who-Lived is beginning to question the sanity of our Headmaster, it seems," he told him, smirking.

"It's taken him this long to figure it out?" replied George. "You only need _look_ at the man to know he's crazy!"

"True," admitted Fred. "Perhaps our Saviour is a little under-endowed in the head department."

But then the food arrived and all talking ceased. It wasn't until every scrap of food was gone from their plates that they leaned back and actually paid attention to the conversations around them.

Most of the first years were talking about their families except for the bossy girl – Hermione? – who was talking about schoolwork with Percy. 'Figures,' thought Fred. Lee was talking about asking McGonagall if he could be the new Quidditch commentator, as the old one had left Hogwarts last year.

Fred soon noticed Potter scanning the head table intently and followed his gaze. It was then that he spotted the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.

"Hey George," he said, attracting his brother's attention. "Who's the new teacher with the crazy turban thing?" George looked up at the teachers, and laughed.

"I have no idea," he replied. "But he looks rather too frail to be of much use against the Dark Arts! I guess we'll find out tomorrow."

"Yeah, probably."

Soon Dumbledore stood up and began giving his customary start-of-term notices. These included the one about the Forbidden Forest (at which point the Headmaster's eyes glanced rather pointedly in the direction of Fred and George, much to their amusement). Another one was about Quidditch trials (Fred made mental note about this, he'd need to be there with the rest of the team during the tryouts for a new Seeker) and a new one about a third floor corridor which was, like the forest, forbidden. This aroused the curiosity of the twins but the warning about a painful death was enough to curb any enthusiasm they may have for investigation.

Then, to the surprise of the students and the horror of the teachers, Dumbledore announced that they would now sing the school song. Fred and George grinned at each other and put on their solemnest faces.

Everyone sang the song at their own pace and to their own tune, which resulted in what can only be described as a complete and utter racket. The twins sang together slowly in a funeral march that, when combined with lyrics like "Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggywarty Hogwarts" sounded ridiculous. They were the last two left singing and persisted to the end of their mournful tune. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines and then wiped away a tear as though the 'song', which could only be described as such by the vaguest definition of the word, was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard.

"Ah, music," he said happily. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime! Off you trot!"

Fred and George hung around the Entrance Hall with Lee for about half an hour after the First Years went up, though (after asking Percy for the password) so that they wouldn't half to wait in line to get through the portrait hole. After that they made their way up to the Common Room ("Caput Draconis" was the password) and into their dormitory. There were five of them in there: Fred and George (obviously), Lee Jordan, Kenneth Towler and Padraic McNamara.

They all fell asleep quickly thanks to the long day and plentiful food and Fred's last thought before he went to sleep was of the ridiculous school song. Hilarious…

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A/N: These keep turning out longer than anticipated... unless i learn self-restraint the Philosopher's Stone is going to be longer than the original! Good god!

Just so people know when Fred refers to Harry as "our Saviour" this is in no way a reference to god. he is their saviour as in 'someone who saved them'. i doubt got confused but just in case i'm accused of blasphemy i thought i'd explain.

also 'Padraic' is an Irish name and is pronounced 'pore- ic' NOT 'pad-rack'.

DangerousDiamondDarling: glad you like Hermione! i thought it would be fun. heehee. ^_^ I'm REALLY glad you still like Fred because i was worried that the last chapter was a bit dour. i'm trying to keep a good balance between funny Fred and, well, real-person Fred. all in all THANK YOU!! You are very very encouraging! hope you like this one!

EasyButton: Thank you! glad you like it! and i understand what you are saying about Fred being angsty. i think i overdid it a bit... i want him to have problems and to have more to him than meets the eye but i want him to stay Fred from the books as well, not be a completely different, dour, person. i'm trying to balance it out and i failed fot the last chapter especially but i tried not to add any for this chapter. i will try to refrain from putting angst in every chapter starting from this one. Thanks for the review and the criticism as well as it may help my writing! Hope you like this one!

PLEASE REVIEW! ^_^


	5. Death, Quidditch and Garlic

**Disclaimer:** I do not not own Harry Potter and, with the way my schemes are going, I probably never will *cries*

**Death, Quidditch and Garlic**

Fred and George woke early the next day and headed down to breakfast with Lee. They sat down in their usual places and helped themselves to the food. Angelina and Alicia came and sat down opposite them just as McGonagall was handing out the timetables.

"Defence after breakfast," muttered George eyes scanning his timetable. "Then Arithmancy (ugh!) and in the afternoon it's Transfiguration."

"Are they trying to melt our melt our brains?" asked Fred in disbelief. "All that on a Monday? Arithmancy _and_ Transfiguration all in one day?"

"Looks like it," said George gloomily. "We have Divination tomorrow, Potions we don't have until Wednesday but we have it on a Friday too. Care of Magical Creatures is on Thursday." "I think I may cry…"

"Me too, Fred, me too."

"Why so cheery?" asked Angelina, leaning over.

"Timetable," answered Fred.

"Ah, yes, that'd explain it," she said. "I'm in all your classes except Divination."

"Why not Divination?"

"'Cause it's stupid."

"Ah, right. Have you ever considered joining a debating team? You have some very convincing arguments."

"Shut up."

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

After breakfast they headed to Defence Against the Dark Arts, which turned out to be a complete doss class. Quirrell could not control a class, never mind a third year class containing the Weasley twins. In that period of complete mayhem they learnt nothing except how incredibly strong garlic smells. Fred and George were convinced that he stuffed liberal amounts of the stuff in his turban as the odour of it followed him everywhere. The man jumped at sudden movements and Fred and George had some rather cruel plans made involving this to amuse themselves and others.

Next they had Arithmancy which, though not as bad as he had expected, killed Fred's brain. He was, however, better at it than George, who by the end had started hitting his head off the table.

"Why did I ever let Percy talk me into this?" he moaned to Fred as they left the classroom to go to Lunch.

"Maybe he got you drunk?"

"I think I'd remember Percy _giving _me alcohol as opposed to taking it away, which is what he usually does." Fred thought for a while.

"Were you suffering from alcohol _deprivation_?" he finally suggested. George laughed.

They sat down and ate quickly, wanting to find Lee before Transfiguration. After the class he was planning to talk to McGonagall about commentating the Quidditch. The twins thought this was a great idea because, though their friend wasn't particularly good at Quidditch, he was passionate about it. And it would be good to have a commentator who would be on Gryffindor's side (even if he was supposed to remain neutral).

Once they found Lee they all headed to Transfiguration, in which the Professor gave her usual speech about how they would all be expected to work hard this year.

Fred and George exchanged an amused look at this: they doubted that their teacher truly _expected_ them to behave. It was probably just wishful thinking.

Seeing their silent communication, she gave them an extra glare before moving on.

"Just because you are taking extra subjects this year," she told them all sternly, "does not mean that you can slack off on your core subjects. In fact, you should work on them harder than ever."

After the lesson, the twins and Lee waited behind until everyone had gone before Lee approached their Head of House.

"Uh, Professor?" he said, hesitantly.

"Yes Mr Jordan?" she said, sitting down behind her desk. And, seeing the twins at the door, she added: "And the brothers Weasley, too, I see."

"Well, Professor, I was wondering if, since Hartley left last year, I could be the new Quidditch commentator?" Lee asked, hopefully.

She seemed to think on this for quite a while before speaking.

"Do you think you'd be up to it, Mr Jordan?" she said finally, looking very reluctant.

"Oh, _yes_, Professor," said Lee sincerely. "I'm sure I'd be good at it. _Please_ Professor?"

"Well, alright," she agreed doubtfully. "I hope you will reflect well on your house. You will commentate for the first match and if you show promise we'll keep you on."

Lee beamed at her.

"Thanks, Professor!" he said enthusiastically. "I won't let you down!"

"See that you don't," she responded dryly. "And, Jordan?" she added as he began to leave.

"Yes?"

"I know it may be hard for you, but try to stay unbiased during the matches, would you?" she said sternly. He looked surprised for a moment before a suspiciously innocent expression replaced it.

"Of _course_, Professor," he told her before he left with the twins.

Out in the corridor he turned to them and grinned evilly.

"This will be great!" he enthused. "I can comment on everyone I don't like during matches! They won't get away with any fouls anymore without at least getting a little verbal abuse!"

"My favourite kind," said George happily.

"Except for the exploding variety," added Fred. "Always good for a laugh, that kind of abuse."

"Seriously, though," George told him, "congrats. It'll be cool having you commentating while we're out there."

"We knew she was going to give it to you, though," said Fred. "I mean, you were practically oozing enthusiastic respect there. It was kind of sickening. Hey, George, how many times did he call her 'Professor' in that conversation, would you say?"

"Who knows. Five, ten, a hundred?" said George, shrugging. "A lot, anyway. Bit of a suck-up, aren't you, Lee?"

"Ah, shut up you two," he said good-naturedly. "I did what I had to do. I got it, didn't I?"

"Ok, yes, you did," agreed the twins.

"_Anyway_," said Fred, changing the subject, "do either of you know when practice is?"

George shrugged.

"Dunno," he said. "Dumbledore said that tryouts were next week but I don't know what day. Oliver might want a meeting before that anyway to give us a pep talk. Wanna ask him?"

"I think we should," said Fred. "I can't wait to get back on my broom!"

"It won't be all fun and games though," said George, rather gloomily. Such thoughts depressed him. "Oliver will be very, erm, _anxious_, what with the rather spectacular defeat last year."

All three of them were silent for a moment as they thought about the final match last year. They had lost, one hundred and seventy points to zero, ten minutes into the game. During that time one of their chasers, seventh year Edgar Burke (now gone), managed to score an own goal. Alicia was knocked off her broom by a bludger that, to their shame, the twins hadn't got to. Their seeker, another former seventh year called Mark Hitchens, managed to crash five times before his counterpart on the Slytherin team caught the snitch. Mark had been fairly pathetic as a player, but there had been no one else and he was better than no seeker at all.

"He'll probably make us practice for five hours every night," said Fred finally.

"Yep," said his twin. "And think how intense he'll be during the trials. We need to find a new chaser _and _a new seeker. Hopefully better than the last two."

"Hopefully."

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

The twins approached Oliver Wood in the common room after dinner.

"Hey Oliver," they said, approaching him at a small desk completely covered by books. He was scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment, but looked up as they approached. "What's with all the books? It's the first day for god's sake! "

"_I _know that," said Wood grumpily. "The teachers, however, either weren't informed or don't care. I hate the OWLs already!" The twins grimaced in sympathy.

"Forgot you were doing them," said Fred. "Percy did talk about them a lot this summer though." Oliver rolled his eyes.

"I'll bet," he said. "Though I doubt The Prefect, as I believe he would rather be known, has anything to worry about."

"Oh, he wasn't _worrying_, really," George informed him. "More _anticipating eagerly_, I would have said." Wood scowled.

"Good for him," he said sarcastically, turning back to his work.

Seeing that their Captain was in a bad mood, they decided to jump straight to the point.

"Oliver!" said George sharply, recapturing his attention, although this time it came with a frown of irritation. "We were wondering when the trials are and if we are having any practices or anything before them."

"Oh!" said Oliver, his face clearing. "Quidditch! Right! General team meeting on Friday to discuss our situation and tryouts on Monday."

"Ok, cool," agreed the twins quickly and left without asking what the situation was that required a 'general team meeting' because Oliver could become angry again quickly if they questioned him when in this mood.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

The rest of the week passed very slowly and with little excitement. It was nice to see everyone again, Fred thought, but the novelty soon wore off. The twins were on their best behaviour this week, as they didn't want any detentions to keep them away from the Quidditch Trials because the whole team should really be there and Wood would kill them if they missed it.

Divination, on Tuesday, was very boring and, though Fred wouldn't admit it to Angelina, 'stupid' summed it up pretty well. The one interesting point was when their new professor, who the twins both agreed looked like a giant insect-woman, declared to an astonished class that Fred would die because the dregs of his teacup looked sinister. It took five minutes for the twins to be able to stop laughing, and for the remaining ten minutes of the class they couldn't help sniggering whenever they looked at the suspect cup ("Maybe she poisoned the tea," George had suggested). They both found the idea of one of them dying ridiculous, especially it happening anytime soon. A few members of the class didn't seem to find it quite so ridiculous though. Lee was looking distinctly uneasy, as was Alicia and another Gryffindor girl, one Lizzy Mason, was looking horrified.

Potions was Pure Hell, as usual. It was one of the few classes in which the twins really couldn't ever risk misbehaving. They also had to actually _work_, at least to a certain extent, because the consequence of not doing so was even harder work. So, in a way, doing the work was the lazy way, a concept that appealed to the twins. They got fairly good grades in this subject because of this interesting and twisted application of logic. They still hated Snape with a passion because, though they often received detention from the other teachers, they didn't misbehave in his class (much) and he gave it to them all the time anyway. The bastard.

They got an annoyingly large amount of work from him given that this was their first week back but everyone was saying he was worse than ever this year. He was constantly in what used to be considered his very worst mood. Fred couldn't help wondering what had got him this mad.

Thursday's Care of Magical Creatures class was quite a disappointment to say the least.

Professor Kettleburn, for their first class, had them feeding Flobberworms, the most useless and dependent species on the planet, or so Fred suspected. This was even more disappointing because Charlie had told them that Kettleburn was an extremely good and interesting teacher. This lesson about such creatures, completely lacking in danger, could possibly have been explained by the Professor's conspicuous lack of a leg (a peg was where it should have been), which looked like an old wound, and his lack of a left hand, which looked recent. He maybe had decided to start playing it safe from now on.

On Friday they had Potions again for the first class and then double Charms. In Potions Fred and George managed to lose their House ten points. There was an incident with a Shrinking solution and a Slytherin's face (Montague, a Chaser in Quidditch). The twins of _course_ had absolutely nothing to do with it – "how could you accuse us of such a thing sir, we were all the way over there" – but for some inexplicable reason, Snape didn't believe them. Thankfully he hadn't given them detention, because then they'd have missed the team meeting thing that Wood had wanted them to go to. They felt that losing their House ten measly points was a much better alternative than facing the Wrath of Oliver.

They left as soon as the bell went and headed toward Charms. They passed Ron and Potter going the other direction, looking very apprehensive, followed by the Granger girl, rushing along to Potions looking surprisingly eager to get there. Snape would soon destroy that eagerness for his lessons. Poor girl didn't know what she was rushing towards.

In Charms they were learning how to light the tip of their wand so it could be used like a lantern ('_Lumos_'). It was an extremely useful charm to know and Professor Flitwick assured them that they would probably end up using it a lot in the future. The twins, however, already knew this charm, and had for many years, as it was vital when using any of the castle's shortcuts and secret passages unless you have a desire to emerge extremely bruised if you emerge at all. They had learnt it in first year after several disastrous attempts to go through the passages to Hogsmeade in the dark.

They spent the class talking and joking and, every now and then, levitating the hats off people (usually the ones who looked to be concentrating particularly hard) to see if they'd notice.

After class was over they headed straight for the Quidditch pitch. Wood tended to get shirty if they were late. They were apparently going to convene in the dressing room to discuss the tryouts and the team issues and then have a fly around to get used to their brooms again.

Fred hoped the 'meeting' wouldn't take too long though, knowing Oliver, it probably would. He couldn't wait to be flying again with his team, incomplete as it currently was.

He couldn't help wondering who the new Chaser was going to be, and if they'd even be able to find a new Seeker…

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**Author's Notes:** I actually quite this chapter. I was actually in a good mood today for once (this entire year has been rather crappy) because it SNOWED! YAY! You have to understand that in Ireland it practically never snows. It especially never snows in Dublin and I am right by the coast, where it snows the absolute least. Today, however, it DID snow and the snow actually stayed on the ground the entire day and we got to go home from school early! I'm hoping for a day off tomorrow because of it but it's unlikely. If you still do not understand my excitement then think about the fact that the last time i remember the snow staying for more than five hours was eight years ago, and it still wasn't as much as this! Even if it did come on the official 5th day of Spring i'm grateful for it! ^_^

Sorry, went off on a bit of a tangent there. My bad! But I do love snow. ANYWAY in the chapter I described Prof. Kettleburn with missing limbs because in PoA Dumbledore says that he has retired with his _remaining limbs_. I had them learning Lumos in Charms because in the PoA they don't really mention what sort of charms are learnt in third year, but i _think_ they only start using that spell in the third book so i used it. The Divination thing was just a cruel joke because she DOES predict a students death every year and i thought it would be kind of funny (in a rather twisted way) if it was Fred's death that she predicted.

**DangerousDiamondDarling:** Thanks again! You are one of my favourite people right now! Please keep reviewing, i need feedback. i really hope you liked this chapter as much.

Please review, people! Whether you loved it, liked it or hated it, I would like to know how it is or how it could be better!


	6. Interpretations of Truth

**Interpretations of Truth**

The team 'meeting' did not go well.

Oliver gave them a _very_ long speech about how they were _not_ going to lose this year and how they _would_ get a good seeker and a chaser and form the best team they had ever had. He looked close to tears near the end of it in desperation and he told them very fervently that those who had left had been the worst in the team anyway (which Fred agreed was true enough).

The speech/pep-talk went on for almost an hour, so that even Angelina, who usually paid at least some attention to Wood, was beginning to doze off. The twins themselves actually had to be shook awake once it was nearing a close.

They flew around for a bit afterwards but they were all pretty tired still from their first week back and Wood's 'inspirational' talk.

"You all need to be down here at the pitch at 6pm on Monday for tryouts, ok?" Oliver reminded them as they all began to depart. "And try to spread the word among the Gryffindors as much as possible, everyone from second year upward."

They all nodded in agreement, heading back to the castle quickly in case their Captain began talking again. The twins walked with Alicia and Angelina, both Chasers.

"I wonder who will be our new team-mates," said Alicia idly. "I mean, I want to know who we'll have to play with. Especially the Chaser."

"I'm mainly worried actually _finding_ a Seeker," answered Angelina solemnly. "Oliver said that Hitchens had been hard to find, and he was rubbish. Good Seekers are hard to come across, he said."

With these gloomy thoughts they all entered the castle and went straight up to their common room. Fred and George climbed the stairs to their dormitory and lay down to sleep.

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_Ginny,_

_What's up? Miss us yet? I expect so: you're only human after all. Ron's doing ok but I think he's getting a bit homesick. He's missing your charms and annoying nattering. But aren't we all? Can't wait 'til you join us here next year – we'll have a blast! You always were more fun to conspire with than Ron. You're more… cunning, shall we say. Or is evil-minded the best term?_

_Unfortunately there was some difficulty obtaining the toilet seat promised to you (never try and steal something without checking to see if McGonagall is in the vicinity) but never fear! A Weasley always prevails, or else never stops failing! Er, what I mean is we persevere, yes. We do not know the meaning of the word 'failure' (although George has pointed out on occasion that the dictionary describes it as a 'lack of success')._

_I digress. Ignore my rambling dear sister for my brother and I shall obtain the aforementioned item for you, my beautiful Ginny, by the end of the year just to see the smile on your face._

_Moving on, how are you? How's Mum? Does SHE miss us? I wonder… Tell her I wrote and that George says 'Hi'._

_Love, your favourite brother (Fred, obviously)._

Fred sat in the Owlery at 8am in the morning, putting the finishing touches to his first letter home. He always liked writing to Ginny because she was really fun to talk to. She was definitely his favourite sibling after George. He then wrote a shorter letter to his Mum.

_Mum,_ he wrote,

_Hello! Long time no see! How's life?_

_I know you wanted us to write shortly after we arrived, but it's only been a week after all. I know Percy wrote his sooner (knowing him it was probably about five minutes after the train pulled in, am I right?) but we were busy doing all that studying you wanted us to do. We're hardly going to go far in our academic careers if we have to keep writing all the time! A bit insensitive of you, really, but don't worry. George and I are naturally very forgiving and require no compensation other than, say, ten galleons apiece? Thanking you in advance!_

_Your adoring and soon to be mildly better off son,_

_Fred._

He quickly sent the letters off and headed back towards the Gryffindor common room. Sometimes he loved being up early in the mornings. He hadn't been able to get back to sleep once he'd awoken. He loved the weekend at Hogwarts… so many things to do, so little time to do them in. Usually one of these activities would have included staying in bed until noon (which George seemed to be planning on doing) but there was always something special about the first weekend back. He rather wanted time to explore the grounds, reacquaint himself with the lake, the forest and the Whomping Willow (the last two from a safe distance). He also wanted to find Ron later and ask him how his week went, but he could do that with George there so it would keep. His twin would be rather bored by his idle wanderings though.

He was nearly at the common room, lost in thought, when he was bumped into by a very small figure obviously in a hurry. The girl fell backwards from the contact and landed on the cold floor.

Startled, he looked down at the child. He, being the larger, had barely stumbled from the collision. He raised his eyebrows in amusement, looking into glare of That Girl (as Lee called her). Her rather frizzy brown hair had fallen over her face and her robes were somewhat dishevelled.

Her glare intensified at his poorly stifled grin.

"What, may I ask, are you doing up?" she asked eventually, in a frosty manner.

"Of course you may ask," Fred replied, executing a ludicrously over-done version of a gentlemanly bow. "But that does not mean I shall reply." He grinned openly now, extending a hand to help her to her feet. She ignored his hand and got up herself with little grace.

"Did these plans you will not tell me about happen to include knocking a girl to the ground?" she asked acidly.

"What?" said Fred indignantly. "You bumped into me!"

"Then why was I the one who fell over?"

"Because, in case you haven't noticed, you are a very tiny little first year."

"Wow, thanks," she said sarcastically.

"What were _you_ doing up, anyway?" said Fed. "You can't really talk."

"_I_ was going to the library," looking at him as if to ask 'what else?' "I somehow doubt that your reasons were quite so innocent, however." He grinned.

"You got me there," he said. "I was off planning dastardly plots with an accomplice of mine who doesn't live in the castle. Wrote them a letter and an order for explosives."

The girl simply raised an eyebrow at him, clearly uncertain as to whether or not he was telling the truth. She then seemed to dismiss the information, possibly for examination at a later date.

"I shall sleep so much better knowing that there are idiots with explosives in my House," he heard her mutter.

He smiled innocently at her.

"You are one of the Weasleys, right?" she asked. "One of the twins?"

"Yep. Fred Weasley. My twin is George."

"Is there any particularly useful that would help me to tell the two of you apart? Extra freckles or something?"

"Of course," he said and winked. "I'm the better looking one." She rolled her yes.

"Great."

"Why would you need to tell us apart anyway?"

"Because I don't want to end up glaring at your brother. He has done nothing to me." She gave a slight smile.

"So I'm the only one deemed worthy of the Death Glare? I'm flattered. You are… Hermione? Hermione Granger?"

"Yes, but I'm surprised you remember my name, what with all the new first years."

"You make quite an impression," he smirked. "You terrified poor Lee. You also are already beginning to be known as Gryffindor's resident bookworm."

"I do like books," she admitted. "And I do also enjoy intimidating boys two years my senior." She grinned wickedly and added, "It's fun."

Fred was rather surprised by her sudden change in demeanour but did not regret it. He could endure a bit more of her company, he decided.

"Well then, Miss Granger, would you perhaps like a tour of the grounds?" he asked her. "I was going to look around this morning and you probably haven't had much of a chance to see it yet." She worried her lip as she thought.

"That's true," she said slowly. "And the grounds are supposed to be very interesting. Do you know much about the history of Hogwarts?"

"Tons."

"Well, ok then," she agreed reluctantly. "Why are you offering though?"

"I can see why it might be an advantage to get on your good side," he said conspiratorially, and then added "Or maybe I'd just like the company."

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An hour later Fred made his way back up to the castle with Hermione. They actually got on fairly well despite how different they were, or maybe because of that. Most of their conversations were arguments, but more of a bantering kind.

Fred had told her many interesting facts about the castle and the grounds, but once he started telling her about Barnabus the Barmy's famous battle with a Chinese Fireball on top of the Astronomy Tower in 1652 she began questioning the truth of his 'facts.'

"Of course they're true!" he had exclaimed indignantly. "I never lie!"

"Oh really?" she had said sceptically. "Because as far as I can remember, Barnabus died over 200 years before that. I call that lying."

"That's not lying," he had said dismissively. "That's just creating a more interesting interpretation of the truth."

"And how much of what you told me was a 'more interesting interpretation of the truth'?"

"How much? Well, pretty much all of it. I don't really listen much in History of Magic. Also known as Nap Time."

"Fantastic."

As they walked back they talked about classes (Hermione loved them all except for Potions. This made Fred doubt her sanity: who could like History of Magic or Herbology?)

"But Professor Snape refused to let me answer questions," she complained. "He just kept asking Harry Potter, who knew nothing."

"That's a _good_ thing, Hermione," Fred told her. "Even if you get the answers right he won't acknowledge it. He'd probably just be more angry."

"It's just really annoying though. And why didn't Harry know? He could have actually read through his books!"

"That's a bit harsh. Not everyone memorises their books before coming. In fact, you were probably the only one who knew the answer."

"I suppose," she sighed. "But he and Ron really don't seem to make much effort. _And _they keep getting into fights with the Slytherins."

"They do?" asked Fred, furrowing his brow. "Why? Is Ron ok?"

"Nothing serious has happened yet," she assured him. "I'm just worried they'll do something stupid. I think there's some kind of grudge thing going on between Harry and Malfoy."

"Malfoy? His father's a nasty piece of work from what my Dad says. Ron and Harry should both stay away from that little idiot. He could cause trouble."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of them," said the first year confidently. She looked so determined that Fred fought his first instinct to laugh as he felt it would probably earn him a hex, which he suspected the intelligent little witch would be perfectly capable of doing. Instead he just nodded solemnly.

"Is Ron your youngest brother?" she asked suddenly, as they neared the castle.

"Yes, but I also have a younger sister," he told her. "She's coming next year."

"Can't wait to meet her," she said, smilingly. "Is she anything like you?"

"She definitely has a mischievous streak that is very Weasley, but also has a bit more sense. I wrote her a letter this morning. She was feeling kind of down before we left. She'll be lonely this year with not even Ron to keep her company."

"You were writing to her this morning? She is the accomplice in your 'dastardly plots' then? Is it just me or are you not nearly as diabolical as you try to appear? You were up early writing home. Not what I'd imagine."

"I'm insulted!" he grinned. "I'll have you know that my mother is very intimidating! Not a woman to be kept waiting. And I was up anyway."

"Sure."

"I'll prove it! I'll prove me and my brother's worth as mischief-makers! Sometime later in the year we will do something for your enjoyment."

"What, something against the rules?" she said, looking suddenly worried. "You shouldn't! Rules are there for a reason!"

"Relax," he said rolling his eyes. "George and I do this stuff all the time. It'll be fun. You're not going to tell on us right?" He grinned at her discomfort.

"It depends," she said, regaining her glare.

They had reached the Entrance Hall. Fred gave her one last innocent look before going off to find his twin. She went to have breakfast.

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The twins spent the rest of the weekend re-familiarising themselves with the secret rooms and passages of the castle, talking to old friends and even, yes, doing some homework.

They were laying low, prank wise. But only for now. They had agreed to wait until all the problems with the Quidditch team were sorted out – they didn't want to endanger their chances of victory (or even of assembling a worthwhile team) by getting into trouble too soon. In about two weeks they could maybe start with some trips to Hogsmeade, maybe a midnight excursion or three to the kitchens. After the first match of the year was over though they could begin their fun. They also wanted to investigate a certain third-floor corridor, though that would have to be under-taken carefully, as they had no wish to 'die a painful death.'

They checked in with Ron, who was now looking forward to his flying lesson, which would take place on Thursday. A downside was that it was with the Slytherins and Ron admitted that he and his new best friend, Harry Potter, were worried they would make fools of themselves in front of Malfoy.

("Don't worry Ron," the twins told him in a rare moment of sympathy. "It's not that hard."

"And though I hate to admit it," Fred continued with a grimace, "you're not _that _bad at flying."

Ron smiled at the twins happily at this rather disguised praise.

"Thanks guys," he said. "Coming from you that's like saying I'm international standard."

"Don't get used to it," said George dryly. "How's class?")

Hermione Granger was even more worried about the flying, but not because of the Slytherins. Fred found her in the library on Sunday, reading many books about Quidditch. You couldn't really learn to fly out of books but that didn't mean she wasn't going to try. He suspected that the rather intimidating girl was actually afraid of heights. She practically bit his head off when he interrupted her reading. What he wouldn't give to see her attempt to fly. It would be hilarious.

Fred and George had been given the job of spreading the word about the Quidditch trials, along with Alicia. Oliver didn't get involved because his intensity scared people and Angelina got easily frustrated with people and may end up bashing heads, which, they all agreed, would probably convince everyone not to come. Alicia, however, got on well with nearly everyone. She wasn't quite as striking as Angelina but she was very pretty and boys would possibly be convinced to come along because of that alone. Girls liked her because of her friendly manner and approachability. She designed a large poster to put on the notice board in the common room and then went around trying to persuade people to come. They desperately needed a better team than last year. The twins did their best to help her efforts.

"OI!!" yelled George on Sunday night, standing on a stool in the middle of the common room. "EVEYONE IN SECOND YEAR AND ABOVE COME TO QUIDDITCH TRYOUTS TOMORROW AT SEVEN PM."

"BE THERE OR BE ATTACKED MYSTERIOUSLY BY GRINDYLOWS!" added Fred, from beside him. Everyone laughed, although some a little nervously, unsure as to whether or not they were joking.

"Ok, Fred," said George, hopping down. "I think that's us done." Alicia frowned at him. She had just spent an hour talking to everyone individually.

They went to bed comparatively early that night, at Oliver's insistence.

As they went up, Fred reflected that Wood was beginning to resemble his mother, in personality if not in looks.

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**_Author's Notes:_** This is going quite a bit slower than I would have originally suspected and hoped. Sorry if anyone finds it boring though I quite like having Hermione in it. Mainly I have her because I honestly think that she and Fred would get on well and also because, though she could be annoying about rules in her first year, she is a nice person and I don't want her to have NO friends before the troll incident. Ron comments that she has no friends in the first book but what would he know about friends outside their year?

Sorry it took so long to post. Complete lack of inspiration. It might also be a little while before the next chapter but hopefully not. I have work experience next week :( and I have to go to Nottingham, England to see a doctor. It makes me sad. He's a specialist. The best in the UK and Ireland. But it may leave me little time for writing, unless i get it posted this week... we'll see.

The snow is gone, probably never to return (or at least not for ANOTHER ten years) but on the bright side the weather is starting to get a bit warmer. YAY SPRING! I got a new coat! It's purple and makes me feel a little bit like Willy Wonka but I love it. I know that was random but it makes me happy.

Has anyone seen Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog? It is AMAZING. I love Joss Whedon ^_^

**DangerousDiamondDarling**: No it is not wrong that you are proud of this story. You really encouraged me and I am really flattered. I love reading your reviews! they make me feel so happy! THANK YOU! You are my best and most consistant reviewer.

**Mickeygee:** So glad you like! I love your enthusiasm! I (obviously) love Fred too. Snow in Ireland IS gorgeous but mainly because of it's rarity. Lol. ^_^

**-Nirvana-Life-:** YAY snow in Ireland! Did you get off school? Did you get a lot where you were? I'm near the coast in Dublin so we got less than a lot of places. Really glad you liked the fic and the way I characterized Fred. I'm most worried about that. Keep reviewing!

**EasyButton**: Lol, a chuckle/gasp. I get those all the time... Thank you! Hope you like this chapter. Please Review ^_^

**Please review whether or not you liked it. I value constructive criticism ^_^**


	7. Threats and a Chaser

Disclaimer: Surprisingly I STILL don't own it. There really is no justice in the world.

**Threats and Chasers**

Fred gloried in the feel of the wind in his hair as he flew around the pitch on his Cleensweep Five. He loved his new broom. Well, new for him. It had been bought second-hand but was still in reasonably good condition and he much preferred having his own broom to having to use the school ones and he knew that George agreed with him.

The afternoon air was cool but he didn't care. There was such a feeling of freedom and peace in flying. He and his twin had decided to come down to the pitch straight after dinner so that they could just fly around a bit, have some fun. Unfortunately Oliver was there early too and gave them a long lecture about how he wanted them to pay attention to each person who tried out so that they could give their opinions later. Fred suspected that this would be a very boring evening. They were also already tired from their Arithmancy class earlier. It was so very hard! And George was finding it particularly hard going. And now they would have to watch many people (most of whom were bound to be useless) attempt to score goals and catch Snitches.

"Oi! Fred!"

Fred turned just as a cricket ball whizzed past his ear. George had another one already in his hand and was hefting his beater's bat.

"Wanna play?" he said, raising an eyebrow challengingly.

"Ok then," his twin replied, grinning.

George threw the ball into the air and hit it Fred's way. Fred swooped low to get it and hit it back. They always started off small in this game, hitting it back and forth comparatively gently. Then it would escalate. Soon both of the twins were swooping and soaring every which way to get to the ball before it fell.

WHACK!

The ball shot past Fred like a bullet, just out of reach of his bat.

"OW!"

Fred looked around at the sound. The prospective Quidditch players had apparently arrived. Less than they had hoped. What mainly concerned Fred right now, though, was that one of them was rubbing his arm where the stray ball had struck and glaring furiously at the twins. Unfortunately the injured party was also the largest and most intimidating of those there.

Dave Burns was a very large Fourth Year and, though the twins were strong enough, they weren't as tall as the older boy. He strode angrily up to them as they landed.

"I believe this is yours?!" he said coldly, eyeing them with a level of contempt that was, Fred felt, disproportionate to the harm done. The fourth year was holding out their cricket ball with his uninjured arm.

"Technically it belongs to the school," said Fred before he could stop himself. George shot him a sharp look. 'Don't antagonise the scary and already severely annoyed person further,' he seemed to be saying with an urgent glance at the boy.

Burns' eyes narrowed murderously. He shoved the hard leather ball roughly into Fred's chest.

"If this, in any way, affects my flying," he growled, indicating his arm, "then you will pay." Threat issued, he stalked off, leaving a pair of dazed and slightly apprehensive Weasleys.

"D'you think he's, you know, over-reacting just a tad?" Fred asked his brother, absent-mindedly rubbing his sore chest where the ball had been shoved.

"Yup," said George, frowning. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," he answered. "Although I think I'm gonna have a bruise."

"Oh deary me! A bruise!" said George, smirking a little. "I'm more worried about what he'll do next if he does badly in the tryouts."

"What if he's just bad anyway?" said Fred gloomily.

"I think he'd be unlikely to admit it. I think we're probably in a little bit of trouble here."

"Maybe we can take him?"

"No way! He's built like a tank!"

"Yeah…" Fred sighed resignedly. He had a feeling that this was going to complicate things for some time. Why did that ball have to hit the most temperamental and violent of the Gryffindors present?

He glanced around at the rest of the bunch. They were mainly second years, glad for a chance to be on the team at long last after a whole year of not even being allowed brooms. There was only one third year, Kenneth Towler. There were maybe three fourth years and a rather scrawny fifth year.

They had the tryouts for the Seeker first. It did not go well.

Most of the second years couldn't fly well at all and kept almost crashing into the stands, the ground and even each other. Wood sent them off immediately. A few of the candidates decided not to try out as Seeker, as they had their hearts set on the position of Chaser.

The twins observed the attempts with growing disappointment.

"D'you ever think," said Fred speculatively, "that we may be better off with just five players?"

"Rather than this lot?" answered George. "Definitely. On the other hand, I think it's against the rules."

"Ah, well."

Eventually, after the injuries had reached an almost fatal level (a second year managed to fall thirty feet after thinking he had seen the snitch and getting too excited) Oliver gave up and sent all the seekers off.

The captain swore ferociously under his breath as they trooped away, a few being helped by friends to the Hospital Wing. George patted him on the back sympathetically.

"Maybe the Chasers will be better," he suggested while exchanging doubtful looks with his twin.

The Chasers weren't better. No, that's a lie. They weren't _much_ better. They were an improvement though, however small. And not all of them were terrible. Two players stood out from the rest. One was Burns. This, Fred thought, could be a problem. If he got the position of Chaser then the twins were screwed, as he would probably make their daily lives miserable and eventually he would get mad at them for something else. On the other hand, if he didn't get on the team then the twins were screwed, as he would blame them.

The other one was a very pretty second year. Fred didn't know her name, but she looked vaguely familiar from the common room. He had never really noticed her before. She was good-looking but nothing special. Or so he had thought. On a broomstick, she soared. She resembled a bird, swooping and diving with the joy of flight shining out of her. Her face was alight with it.

"Fred!!"

"Huh?" he said distractedly, turning to George.

George sighed in exasperation. "I was wondering what you think we should do?"

Fred frowned. "About what?"

"Oliver is going to come in a sec and ask us what we think! Do we recommend the guy to avoid a beating, or do we recommend someone else and avoid future pain?"

Forgetting that he himself had been wondering this a minute ago he offered his newly formed opinion. "I think we suggest someone else. Definitely."

"Really?" asked George. "You sure?"

"Yep."

"Ok. Why?"

"Um…" Fred's eyes briefly and involuntarily flickered towards the girl whose name he didn't know before he answered. "We need to stand up for ourselves. We can't let anyone own us! We're more than a match for him."

"We really aren't," answered his twin, looking at him suspiciously. "He's bigger than us and a year ahead of us in magic."

"Yeah," Fred conceded, "but I bet we can outrun him. And outsmart him. And make his life hell."

George began to grin. "Ok, this is starting to sound like fun. But, you do realise, that if he catches one of us we won't be able to run away or pull anything on the spur of the moment."

Fred let his expression darken. "If he catches one of us, then he'll later wish he hadn't. It's a matter of pride."

"Alright then. I agree."

"Tell you what though," Fred added. "We'll try to pacify him first. We don't want to start a vendetta needlessly."

"Fair enough," agreed his brother easily.

The twins watched the tryouts for another twenty minutes before Oliver came over. Fred welcomed the end as his eyes kept straying to a certain prospective Chaser with embarrassing regularity. Why was he so distracted today?

"So what do you guys think?" Oliver asked them, watching the players above.

The twins exchanged a glance before George answered. "We think the girl. That one there." He indicated the girl who had been distracting his brother so.

Oliver nodded in satisfaction. "That's what I thought too. And Angelina agrees. I haven't asked Alicia yet but that's a clear majority. I'll ask her now." He strode off to Alicia.

Fred took a deep breath. That was settled, then. No going back now.

Wood ended the tryouts, thanked everyone for coming and then called the girl over to the rest of the team. As she came over, the other Chasers left gloomily, but not before Fred got a very threatening look from one of them. This would cost them.

"Congratulations!" Wood told the girl. "You're Gryffindor's new Chaser." He sounded very tired and not as happy as he should, but then Fred realised that they still had no Seeker. They couldn't play without one.

The girl looked delighted and thanked him happily. The team all gave her a little wave in greeting to their ranks before turning their attention back to Oliver.

Angelina spoke first. "Not to be negative, but, although I am delighted to have a great new Chaser," she threw a warm smile at the girl at this, "what are we going to do about a Seeker? It's kind of important."

"I know," said the captain wearily. "But I really just couldn't have picked any of them today. They were all so terrible!"

"Yeah, they were," agreed Alicia, "but what are we going to do then?"

Wood sighed. "Maybe we'll hold another tryout. Try and make sure that more people come this time. People with more talent. If not, then I'll just have to pick one of today's idiots. But I'd really rather not do that."

They left for their common room then, Fred beside Angelina.

"Hey, Ange," he asked casually. "What was the new girl's name again? I didn't catch it."

"Katie Bell," she answered. "She's a second year. Nice girl. Kind of quiet I think. Good flyer, it seems."

"That she was," Fred agreed.

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**Authors Notes:** I'm really sorry about the delay! If anyone is left to read it after my absence! REALLY busy month. Really bad month too, generally. Between school work, projects, procrastination, funerals and hospital i have been just swamped. Hope you like the chapter anyway, as it gave me a lot of trouble. my muse hid for a while.

Um, I've added a new character as you will see. Enemies are handy for plot points. Hope i kept this believable. And does anyone know if there is ever a description of Katie Bell in the books? or will i just have to make one up?

DangerousDiamondDarling: Thanks as always for the support and encouragement. Hope you didn't mind the wait. The doctor thing is nothing life threatening, just irritating. Thanks for the concern though ^_^


	8. Confrontations and a Seeker

**Disclaimer:** Isn't mine. Never was. Probably never will be. I admit it, so don't sue me!

**Confrontations and a Seeker**

The next day, on their way to the Great Hall for breakfast, a certain person they had dearly wished to avoid approached.

Burns strode over to them in the Entrance Hall. They were still drowsy from a rather late night and didn't realise until it was too late.

"Shit!" hissed George, nudging his twin in the ribs to get his attention. Fred glanced up – and froze.

"Shit!" he echoed. "What do we do?"

"Run?" suggested George.

"Too late."

Burns was in front of them now, towering over them both.

"Oh! Hi, Burns!" said George brightly.

"Lovely day, isn't it?" said Fred in his most cheerful tone.

"We were just heading to breakfast."

"Are you not hungry?"

"Just smell that bacon! Nothing like it to get you up in the morning, eh?"

"Yeah," said Fred, somewhat anxiously in the face of Burns' stony countenance, "it's just great isn't it? Yeah, and about yesterday… Sorry about that whole cricket ball thing. No hard feelings, right?"

Burns just looked at him for a moment before shaking his calmly. "Sorry, Weasley," he said with a malicious smirk. "There kinda _are_ hard feeling about this. You completely ruined my chances of getting on the team this year. And," he raised his voice pointedly as one of them looked ready to interrupt, "a little bird told me that you two added insult to injury by voting against me for chaser. Is this true?" His voice got truly vicious towards the end of that sentence and he was glaring daggers at them.

The twins paled slightly.

"W-well, the thing _is_ that, well - " George fumbled for an excuse.

"The girl really was _very_ good," said Fred, and hurriedly added, "Not that you were _bad_."

"No! Far from it!"

"It's just that she was amazing. And she just, sort of _goes_ with the team and - "

"Not that you don't!"

"Right, of course! It's not that you _don't_ go with the - "

"Shut up." said Burns impatiently. The mouths of both twins snapped shut. "The point is that you ruined my chances and you _are_ going to pay! Stop trying to _weasel_ your way out of it and take it like men!"

He grabbed the front of Fred's robes and dragged him forward, raising his fist.

"David Burns!"

All three of them looked up. It was a fairly incriminating picture, him holding one of the twins aloft, the other looking shocked. Professor McGonagall strode furiously towards them.

"Fighting! My Gryffindors, fighting amongst themselves in the middle of the Entrance Hall!" she scolded furiously. "Mr Burns, what is the meaning of this? This boy is younger than you and smaller than you!"

"Uh…" Burns hesitated, shooting the twins a look of loathing.

"What did they do to deserve this?"

"Well they - "

"We accidentally hit him with a ball during Quidditch tryouts yesterday, Professor," explained George, eyeing his twin (who was still in the grip of the fourth year) anxiously.

Her nostrils flared.

"That's _it_?" she stormed. "Twenty points from Gryffindor, Mr Burns and you are to come with me to my office! Right now! You are _not_ allowed to fight with other students. Under any conditions."

"But, Professor!" protested Burns angrily.

"But nothing!" she snapped. "And for goodness sake, let Mr Weasley down!"

As she led Dave Burns away the twins stared after them in silence for a moment. Fred straightened his robes and massaged his neck briefly.

"Ow," he said, breaking the brief silence.

"Could've been worse," George commented. "You'd still be seeing stars if he'd had his way."

"True enough."

"So what now?" asked George. "He's not going to leave us be, you know. He'll be even angrier next time."

"I know," agreed Fred, pensively. "And we can't avoid him forever. Then again, do we want to?"

"What do you mean? I'm not sure _I_ want to get a beating."

"Yeah, I know. Me neither, obviously. But do you really want to let him get away with the weasel comment?"

George grinned. "He does deserve some retribution for that, I'll agree. I also didn't appreciate him causing us to seem like defenceless little boys."

"And then there's the trying to punch me thing," added Fred, almost like an after-thought.

"Oh, well, yeah. That too," agreed his twin. "But if we get him back, then he'll just get _us_ back and then we'll get _him_ back - "

"Yeah, yeah, a vicious circle."

"So how about we avoid him as best we can and if he gives us reason enough, well, then we pay him in back. That way he may get the message better."

"Not really as fun though."

"No, perhaps not. But let's just see how it goes, shall we?"

"Alright then." They walked into the Great Hall and just had time to grab some toast before their first class.

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Over the next few days they ended up using their extensive knowledge of the secret passages more than ever in a desperate attempt to avoid Burns. They were safe enough in public, especially in the presence of teachers and prefects. They still didn't like all this hiding and running, it went starkly against the age-old Gryffindor grain. But it was necessary for now. Maybe he'd give up. Or catch them. In an odd way, they rather wished for the latter, as they were getting frustrated and eager to exact their revenge. They wanted to prove to him that they were not for pushing around.

They attempted to stay in the company of those bigger than them whenever possible, and when when it at times proved impossible they used every secret passage out there to make sure they didn't run into the fourth year. They checked the Marauder's Map almost constantly to check on their enemy's whereabouts.

They were, for the most part, successful. Most of the times they _did_ see Burns was at mealtimes and when in the common room. Unfortunately, there were those times, however regrettable, when they ran into him when they were alone. It happened twice, and both of those times he was with his equally big and rough friends. Both times the twins, to their shame, were forced to leg it. Not that this didn't have some upsides. Though it was a rather cowardly display, his expression as they continued to evade him was priceless.

On Thursday, just three days after the spectacular failure of a tryout, Wood approached them, grinning hugely. He'd spent the time between in despair and depression, glaring at anyone who even _mentioned_ Quidditch. This sudden change in mood was startling and even a bit disturbing. Talk about mood swings.

"Hey guys!" he said excitedly.

The twins just eyed him warily.

"Hi," Fred tried, cautiously.

Wood raised an eyebrow at their bemusement. "What's up with you two?"

"Nothing much. You?"

"Never been better! Guess what?" he said, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"What?" This was possibly the happiest they'd seen him _ever_. As his happiness almost always was directly related to Quidditch and the results of the Cup, he hadn't been very happy the last few years (because of Gryffindor's abysmal performances in it).

"We have a Seeker!" He looked ready to dance on the spot.

"What?"

"Really?"

"Since when?"

The twins were astonished. They hadn't hosted new trials, and Oliver would not have been nearly this happy if he'd decided to pick one of the previous applicants.

"Since today! McGonagall found him!"

"Who is it?"

"Why didn't he come to the tryouts?"

"Harry Potter!" Wood declared proudly, puffing out his chest. He took advantage of their shocked silence to continue. "He had his first flying lesson today! I don't know the particulars, but apparently McGonagall saw him catch a little ball thing after a fifty-foot dive! She said that even Charlie couldn't have done it. She was _very_ impressed."

"But, well, he's a first year! Will Dumbledore allow it?"

"She says she'll convince him. C'mon, I mean, we _need_ him! He'll let him."

"Wait, I thought Potter grew up with muggles – where'd he learn to fly?"

"Apparently he's a natural," said Wood happily. "He begins training next week. McGonagall said she'd make sure he got a decent broom, too. Something to give him an edge."

"He'll need an edge," said George seriously. "Seekers are always small, of course – but that small? He'll want to make sure they don't get the chance to foul him."

Fred nodded his agreement.

"Well," said Oliver slyly. "That's what you two are there for, isn't it? He'll be fine! I need to go tell the girls. If you see them first, past it on, ok? But don't tell anyone else. He's our secret weapon."

The twins rolled their eyes at the phrasing. Secret weapon, honestly.

"Ok, Oliver. We'll do that."

"You can count on us!"

When Oliver had left the twins instantly turned to each other.

"I can't believe this!"

"I know! We have a Seeker! One who isn't an embarrassment to the name of Quidditch!"

"This is amazing! I wonder if Ron knows yet?"

"Probably, he's really close with the Potter kid."

"What do you think the girls will say?"

"Well, either way it's better then the alternative, isn't it? I'd say they'll all be chuffed."

Before dinner, Lee was telling them about a secret passage he'd possibly discovered in the East Wing. He wanted to show them immediately, but the twins wanted to talk to the newest addition to their team (who they couldn't yet tell him about). They said they had some business to take care of and they'd seem him in a minute. They left for the Great Hall and took a quick look around. They spotted Ron with their new Seeker at the far end of the Gryffindor table. The boys were talking animatedly, and Ron was looking gob-smacked. They could guess the topic of conversation.

"Well done," George congratulated Harry quietly (it was, after all, supposed to be a secret). "Wood told us. We're on the team too – beaters."

Harry looked surprised by their approval but smiled, obviously happy with his achievement.

"I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch Cup for sure this year," Fred said triumphantly. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."

"Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school."

"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy we found in our first week. See you."

Lee's passage was the one behind the statue. He was rather disappointed, but also not very surprised. The twins did claim to know every passage, after all, although he had no idea how they could be so sure.

"It would be a good passage," remarked George to Lee, patting the statue on the arm fondly. "It's fairly straight, it has a high ceiling (good for the sake of comfort) and it leads straight to the village. Only one problem with this passage."

"What?" asked Lee.

"Filch knows about it," explained Fred, wincing. "We know because he caught us one time when we used it. An entire week of detentions! Bad week. Very bad week."

"What did he make you d- "

"Don't ask."

"Just – don't ask."

They both shuddered theatrically.

They headed back towards the Great Hall, talking about different punishments and the reasons, laughing at some of the memories. They rounded a corner – and found themselves face-to-face with Burns and two other fourth years.

They froze for a second, while a slow (and scarily sadistic) grin spread across Burns' face.

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A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in ages. It's been, what? Several months? Oops ^_^

What can I say? I could say that I was very busy with school and life in general, which is true enough - or at least it is for the first couple of months. But I've been on holiday for the last couple of weeks, and still hadn't updated. Maybe I'm just a bad person, or maybe it's my all consuming love of that greatest of all past-times: procrastination. Where, in all honesty, would I be without it. Well, I might be doing better in school, but I'd also probably still not write because then I would be actually working. Oh, well. Always the way.

I'm rambling now, so I'll stop. Hope you liked the chapter, I actually did for once. :)

And remember:

**Reviews feed my soul!** (hint hint) ;)


	9. Conspiring

_Disclaimer_: Still isn't mine. My plots always fail. What I need is Fred and George to help me, but unfortunately I don't own them. Sucks to be me :(

**Conspiring**

"Fred?"

"Yeah?"

"Are we dead?"

"I don't think so. I'm pretty sure pain's supposed to stop if you're dead."

"Oh. Definitely not dead, then."

"Definitely not."

Fred sat up slowly. His stomach was a cauldron of gurgling pain and his head wasn't much better. He'd have a black eye for sure.

George's eye was already beginning to look a bit purple, and his lip was bleeding.

"Do I look as bad as you?" he asked Fred, gingerly feeling the bruise around his eye and wincing.

"If I look like I feel, then yes."

"Fantastic. Do you ever think it would have hurt less if we'd let him at us from the word go?"

"Possibly," Fred conceded. "But that wouldn't have been much fun now, would it?"

"Fun? Fun? Come here, Fred. I'll give you another bruise, just for fun!"

"No! That's not what I meant!" George looked surprised to see the grin spreading across his twin's face. "Now, we can have a little fun of our own, right?"

George grinned back, and then winced and dabbed at his cut lip. "I did say that, didn't I?"

"Yup! He'll regret messing with the Weasleys!"

"Wish Charlie was still here. Woulda been nice to have an accomplice who was bigger than ol' Burnsie. I can't see Percy being much help!"

"Yeah, that's true. But maybe Ronniekins wouldn't object to helping a little? Not in a way that'd make him a target, obviously, but look-out and such."

"I can see that, yeah. He very well might."

The twins struggled to their feet. They had been moved out of sight behind the statue after their 'meeting' with Burns.

"So, now what?" asked Fred.

"I say we go to the hospital wing."

"No! Not that. What do you think'll be our pay-back?"

"Can we maybe discuss this when my head isn't ready to explode?"

It was a good point. They went to the hospital wing and then, tired from their ordeal, straight to bed.

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"Hey! What happened to you two?"

Fred groaned and turned to look at Lee.

"Shut up," he growled. George grunted in agreement.

"Who gave you the black eye?"

"Shut up, Lee!"

"Yeah, you know perfectly well who did this to us! After all: _you ran away_!"

"OK! Sorry!" said Lee huffily, as they all sat down for breakfast. "Survival of the fittest, ok? There were more of them, they were bigger and I was expecting you guys to follow me!"

"We tried. Believe me: we tried."

"Well –"

"Seriously, Lee – shut up."

The twins spent most of the morning in uncharacteristically bad moods, snapping at almost everyone. Thankfully, the pain from stiff and aching joints soon wore off, leaving them with nothing but some very disgruntled classmates.

"So, Angelina," George said to her when they were beside her Herbology. "How are you today?"

"Aside from you calling me… what was it again?" she answered angrily, "'an annoyingly persistent banshee'?"

"Did we say that?"

"No, George said that. YOU called me an obnoxiously loud devil-woman."

"Oh! Well, about that…"

They both gained a _thwack_ to the back of the head for that conversation, ending their attempts to talk to Angelina.

"Why do we _bother_ having enemies, George, with friends like ours?" Fred, asked his brother, rubbing the stricken spot on his cranium.

"Uh… for variety, maybe?"

"That must be it. I'm starting to think I'd like a more linear lifestyle."

"I think I know what you mean…"

After this traumatising experience, they tried to focus on Professor Sprout – shocking though it may be for them to focus on a teacher. They quickly became bored with the lesson, however, and began a more interesting activity: plotting their revenge. This occupied their attention for the rest of the lesson (losing five points for Gryffindor for not listening and another _thwack_ from their irate Chaser).

They continued planning for a while, though none of them were particularly inspired.

"Fireworks in his room?"

"During class? McGonagall would skin us alive!"

"No, I was more thinking of while he was _in_ the room…"

"As fun as that sounds, it's also potentially lethal. I'd definitely choose McGonagall over Azkaban!"

"Would you? _I _wouldn't."

"Either way, I'd want something a little more… humiliating. Public. We're showmen! We don't work in the dark!"

"True… itching powder? Always a laugh!"

"Ha! That could be fun. Not the most original, but definitely a classic!"

"How about we set a tiger on him? That could be fun."

Not all their ideas were at all achievable, or logical, but they kept at it for quite a while. There was nothing they liked better.

They went to the library after lunch to (if you must know) look up some very… _interesting_ jinxes.

Fred was wandering around, glancing at the titles. When he turned a corner he saw a figure sitting in a chair beside the shelves. It was a small figure, unidentifiable behind an enormous book. Well, they _would_ be unidentifiable if it weren't for the uncontrollably bushy brown hair poking out from over the top of the tome.

He walked up to her, but she didn't seem to notice him. He grinned and cleared his throat loudly, expecting her to start. No response. He raised an eyebrow.

"Uh… Hermione?" he said, curiously.

The figure raised the book marginally higher.

Ah, that game, huh?

"Sooo… how's life?" he asked after a few moments had passed. Patience wasn't one of his key attributes.

"Anything interesting happening down your end?" he inquired.

"What's first year like?" he said.

"What book are you reading?" he said, casually. He got no reply, again. "Damn! I was sure you'd answer that one!" When she _still_ didn't reply, he sighed and looked at the shelves again, searching once more for a good book on jinxes.

"Know any good books on jinxes?" he asked a little while later, still searching.

He heard the book lowering behind him and smirked. She seemed to struggle for a moment before he heard her get up and head over to one of the shelves. A minute later a book was slammed into his chest. It actually hurt, but he wasn't going to let her know that. He took the book and grinned down at Hermione, who was glaring at him. He looked at the title of the offending tome. It was simply called _Jinx: for friends and enemies alike_.

"Thanks, Hermione!" he said, as she scowled.

"Oh, does these mean I'm forgiven for being a 'titchy first year know-it-all'?" she asked sarcastically.

Right, so _that's_ why she's mad at him. He really couldn't remember that…

"Oh, I said that, huh?"

"_Yes_, you did."

"Oh, right. Well… I'm sorry?"

"So you should be," she declared with satisfaction. "All right, I'll forgive you. You're better than your brother anyway. He never apologises." She frowned again, just slightly.

"Oh, right. Did George insult you too?" asked Fred. Did they insult everyone they came across today?

Her nose wrinkled in distaste as she said: "No. Your brother, Ron! And Harry Potter!"

"Uh… what did they do to incur your wrath?"

She made a face.

"You do not want to know. Let's just say I got no sleep, very nearly got expelled and will probably have nightmares for weeks! And it was all their fault!"

"Yeesh! What did they do?"

She shook her head. "Never mind. Seriously, never mind." She shuddered.

"Oh, okay," he said looking at her curiously while she sat back down on her chair and buried herself in her book once more.

Fred found George and they left, checking out a few books.

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"Hey! Ron!" Fred called, and made his way over to his brother before dinner. "S'up?"

"Hey, Fred," said Ron gloomily.

"I heard an odd rumour recently, that I'd like to hear about first hand…."

"Uh… what was that?"

"Where were you last night?" Fred asked and watched Ron's eyes widen.

"Why would you ask that?" he said, defensively.

"I just heard on the grapevine about some shenanigans involving you and Harry Potter being out of bed last night, nearly getting expelled and some kind of horror."

Ron's mouth hung open. "And where did you hear all that?" he spluttered.

"I have my ways…"

"Wait: almost got expelled? Has Hermione been spreading this around? God! Can she not be trusted _at all_? I know she doesn't like us, but telling everyone?"

"She didn't tell everyone, idiot! Just me. And she refused to give us any specifics, so don't be so damn hard on her. But _you_ could give me some specifics," he grinned, hopefully.

"Um… I shouldn't, really. Just take my advice and never, and I mean _never_, go near the third floor corridor."

"Huh? You guys went to the third floor corridor? The out-of bounds one? With _Hermione_? She actually broke rules? Are we talking about the same girl here?"

Ron grinned. "She didn't _want_ to. But she tried to persuade us to go back and then got locked out of the common room."

"That sounds more like it. What did you find?"

"Seriously, Fred. You do not want to know."

"Right! Fine! That's what she said too. By the way Ron, she's really mad at you, you should watch your back." He grinned at the first year.

Ron frowned. "Well, we're not fond of her either. Why were you talking to her, anyway? She's a first year and a know-it-all."

Fred shrugged. "I'm talking to you, aren't I? You're a first year. 'Sides, she's kind of funny. And the only girl outside of Angelina that Lee's afraid of. I respect that." His grin broadened.

"Yeah, I can see why," said Ron darkly. He waved a goodbye and began walking away.

"Oh! Hey, Ron?" Fred called after him. "How bad a mood were me'n'George in this morning?"

Ron smirked at him as he turned. "Pretty bad. You called Harry a bespeckled midget with a cut on his forehead, and I am now an idiot who looks like his head caught fire – though honestly I think that could work for you too."

Fred winced. "Right, thanks. Tell Harry that it's just one of our little ways and we think that cut of his is sorta cool, ok?"

"Already done. Wait, what about the midget part?"

"Well, I don't want to lie to the kid…"

Ron laughed. "I'll just say you're sorry in general."

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When the twins went to dinner they opted to stay far away from anyone they may have insulted and ended up beside Lee.

"Hey, Lee. What's up?"

"Not much. Where were you guys today? And I mean since breakfast, when you declared me a disgrace to Gryffindor," Lee said, grinning at them.

"Uh! Not you too? Did we insult _everyone_?"

"Very possibly. You weren't happy. Might've been all the bruises."

"Y'know what, Lee? I think you may be right."

"Yeah, I'm perceptive like that. So, what were you doing today?"

"General conspiring."

"Oh, you gonna get him back then? Cool. It's about time he learnt his place."

"Yeah, definitely. You want in? We haven't come up with a definitive plan yet…"

"Sure! I owe you for yesterday anyway. What sort of punishment are you thinking of?"

"Well, something embarrassing, but nothing too bad – as it's a first offence. We just want him to know that we mean business."

"Ok, fun. So, nothing painful? He'd deserve it, you know. After the beating he gave you."

"Oh, we know, but we don't want to make it too obvious to the teachers. If it's public _and_ painful McGonagall'd find out and skin us alive!" George shuddered.

"Good point." Lee nodded.

"Anyway, I think he values his pride over his physical well-being. We want to bring it down a notch…"

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_**A/N**_: Sorry that updates are taking so long! School'l starting next week, but I'll try bring the next one soon. But reviews make me update faster, by the way!


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